Des Moines

Fictitious story w/ fictitious sex between fictitious consenting adults, all over 18 years of age.

"It is impossible to build one's own happiness on the unhappiness of others." Daisaku Ikeda

My name is Tyler Clinton and I'm going to tell you my story. Before I begin, no, I'm not even a distant relative of the former president, although the irony his behavior while in office isn't lost on me.

Pondering why your spouse would abandon fidelity to her vows while claiming to want to stay in the marriage is a question with which I never dreamed I'd wrestle. Yet here I am, seated on my back porch on a cool May evening waiting for my soon to be ex-wife to storm through the door having just been served divorce papers at her place of employment. I have some idea how she will react, but I'm not completely sure because I think she's lost her marbles.

The discovery of her cheating happened three weeks ago on April 28. I'll come back to that in a moment. The choice of our back porch is because it is private. We live on a two-acre lot so even if there is some shouting it will be tough for neighbors to hear. Also, a private eye is parked around the corner surveilling what is about to unfold. He's there for both our protection, just in case either of us gets wound up so tight we snap.

Lindsey, Lin to me, is an intelligent and beautiful woman. We met at grad school in Chicago. I was working on an MBA in Medical & Health Services. She was completing her CRNA, which, for readers not working in the medical world, means she was studying to become a nurse anesthetist. She'd worked neo-natal for two years. Long hours, longer emotional drain. NA's work relatively normal hours (usually 6 AM -- 5 PM four days a week) for much better pay and less trauma.

Lin's only potentially significant flaw was she becomes bored easily and is always looking for the next thing. We'd be enjoying a concert and she'd be working on plans for the next weekend. Whatever was new was also a temptation. Whether it was a new app, new friend or new restaurant, her interest was always peaked. We talked it over during our courtship and I made it clear that new was OK with me, but when it came to marriage, I was a traditionalist. I believed you could find "new" every day of your relationship with the same person over many years if you put your heart into it. She never gave me reason to suspect she disagreed.

To the extent that her slightly fickle personality was prone to wandering from familiar to new, I insisted we sign a prenuptial agreement. She wasn't thrilled with the idea and felt it was an insult to her character. I explained it was a two-way agreement that protected her every bit as much as it protected me. She relented and signed. It was straightforward. 50/50 on wealth accumulated during the marriage with each keeping 100% of what they brought in. 80/20 split if the breakup was caused adultery. To be honest, after we signed it, I don't think either of us gave it another thought... until recently.

After being wed, we moved from Chicago to Des Moines, Iowa. Sexy huh? Don't knock it until you've been there. Low cost of living, strong economy, vibrant and growing downtown urban center and excellent career opportunities in health care. Cold winters, with mostly mild spring and fall seasons. Summers that can vary from downright pleasant to almost, but not quite, unbearably hot. Unlike our neighbors to the south in St. Louis, Des Moines doesn't have high humidity. Even on hot summer days, the evenings always cool off quite nicely.

To top it all off, the sweet corn in July and August is to die for. And it is the birthplace of Ben Silbermann, creator of Pinterest. What more could you need? Eight years in, we both had jobs we loved, a wonderful home, neighbors, and friends we truly enjoyed, and I thought until three weeks ago, a strong marriage.

I say strong, not perfect. Nobody has a perfect marriage because there are no perfect people inhabiting the planet. We fought from time to time. I'm a strident squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom guy and she's haphazard about it. She wants the dishes done and the kitchen clean every night, I'm happy loading the dishwasher for three or four days before running it. Yes, like every other couple in America, we could fight over stupid shit.

But far more often, we'd take long walks in the evening and have longer talks on the screened in porch. Quick weekend trips to a cabin hideaway or a favorite concert in Chicago, Minneapolis or Dallas were not unusual. We enjoyed each other sexually and we were open and honest about what we liked or didn't enjoy. At least that was the impression I was under. We both agreed sex is as much mental as it is physical and, I thought, had fun making the most of our intimate moments together. Both thirty-four we knew kids were not too far off and looked forward to being mom and dad whenever children arrived.

By now, you may be wondering. Am I really a dud in the sack and just unwilling to admit it? Is Lin absolutely stunning and hit on by every man that comes along? Have we been toying with the notion of an open marriage? Did I miss warning signs earlier in our relationship that Lin would turn slut? Had I cheated on her, so she is just getting some revenge sex? Is her lover hung like a horse, a Greek Adonis that she couldn't escape? Is he an older dominant guy who preyed on her daddy issues? Is she trading up financially? Let me take them in order...

• Lyn seems genuinely happy with our sex life. Unless she's the best porn actress on the planet, it appears I can rock her sexual world when I put my mind to it. I had a handful of sexual encounters prior to meeting her. Never been called the best ever, but I worked hard to give as good as I got, and I never heard complaints.

• She is a very good-looking woman with a quick wit and strong mind. She's Irish / Italian, 5'8" light brunette with a slender build and better than average boobs. Dark green eyes and a killer smile. In my opinion, her long legs and firm ass are her best physical features. Guys look, a few approach. She's never given me reason to think she'd accept any offers. Come to think of it, I've rarely seen her flirt.

• Not hardly

• I can't recall any warning signals, but if I'm that dense I guess I got what I deserved for being asleep at the switch. Maybe I should have been more tuned in to her fascination with new.

• Never touched another woman beyond a friendly hello or goodbye hug since we became a couple.

• I think an honest reply is, he is handsome, but I wouldn't say drop dead gorgeous. He is about my height, 6'1", about the same build, around 180 lbs. Fit and solid but not ripped. Blond hair and blue eyes. Only saw him naked on video and he seemed about as big as me in that department. Around seven inches when hard... which it most definitely was.

• He's only twenty-eight, a med student who has been rotating through the OR for the last two months.

• He'll have money someday but since she clears 100K and I make about twice that much, can't see cash, fancy cars or a lavish house being a temptation. He won't start raking in serious bucks for at least another decade.

So, as you can imagine, I really have no idea how we got here, but maybe I should share what has transpired in the last three weeks.

It was the last week in April and, I was out of town at a medical administrator's conference in Kansas City for three days. I was supposed to be gone four, but when I looked at the seminar offerings on the last day, there wasn't much that grabbed my attention. It had already been a good week. The first day I connected with three other folks in my region who had similar positions. We ended up forming a small team and getting together each evening to compare notes. Enjoyed some good camaraderie, did some networking, exchanged contact information, and laughed over a few beers.

Late on day three I let them know I was headed out first thing in the morning. Since it is less than a three-hour drive, I'd skipped the pain of air travel and drove myself. Interstate 35 is a relatively quiet drive with less traffic than most highways. Passed the time listening to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast on WWI both ways. KC has an amazing WWI museum thanks to Missouri's only president. Carlin gave me a little context before I took the tour prior to the first session of the seminar. (President Harry Truman, by the way, for those of you ignorant of fly over country.)

Since I drove, I could depart at my leisure. Because I thought I was heading home to a loving wife who would be on her first day of a three-day break, I rose early and was on the road by 5 AM. My intention was to wake her up around 8 AM with Starbucks followed by morning sex. Or, morning sex, followed by Starbucks. The order wasn't really that important to me.

When I arrived home Lyn's car wasn't in the driveway. She drives a 2018 crystal black pearl Honda Accord which she never pulls into the garage unless it is raining. It hadn't rained in a week. If it's not in the driveway, she's not home. I was a bit confused. We work out at the same gym, Lifetime Fitness so she wouldn't be out for a run. She always sleeps in on her first day off rotation but entering the house it didn't look like she had been home last night. The bed was made, which it never is unless it is Saturday, laundry day. There was no sign of leftovers in the fridge from the previous evening's dinner. This was a head scratcher.

I called Lyn, but it went straight to voicemail. Fortunately, we both have glympse on our phones, a navigation tracking system that works on any iPhone. I flipped on the app and saw her phone was somewhere close to the airport. WTF? We live on the far northeast side of Des Moines close to a private golf course named The Harvester. We both enjoy golf and picked our house partially based on joining that club. The airport was on the far southwest side of town.

I began to get a bit nervous and decided if she answered I'd play dumb. Just checking in, seeing how she was doing. I assumed this early she would never think to look at glympse to confirm my location.

I waited fifteen minutes then called her a second time. She answered, and that was when my world began to fall apart.

"Hey babe" she said in a sleepy voice. "Why are you calling me so early on my day off?"

"Sorry Lyn" I apologized, somehow keeping my cool. "I miss you and had some time before this morning's seminar. Just wanted to hear your voice." I could tell from the background noise she was sitting up in bed. NOT our bed!

"It's OK Ty, I'm always happy to talk to my loving hubby!"

"Sounds like you're still in the sack so I won't keep you. Just wanted to tell you I love you and will be home by dinner tomorrow at the latest unless you want me to skip the last day and hurry home!"

"That would be lovely, but as soon as I get up, I'm going to run a bunch of errands and then have dinner tonight with Kim and Sally. We've planned on it for two weeks so I can't stand them up." The gals are two of her co-workers. She hadn't said anything to suggest she wasn't home in our bed, so I had to think quickly.

"OK babe, I'll let you go. Hey, before you hang up could you check the top drawer of my nightstand and tell me if I left the pen you gave me for my birthday there? I don't have it and am afraid I may have misplaced it." It was in my shirt pocket.

"Ty, sweetie, I really want to roll over and go back to sleep. Could I check for it and call you back before I head out at lunch?" Wrong answer! I knew normally I'd get something like, "I'll check, but I won't be happy if it's not there and you've lost my gift."

My heart was pounding hard in my chest, but somehow, I maintained my composure. "Sure, Lyn just don't forget to check. I'll let you go back to sleep. Again, sorry I woke you."

"Thanks babe, I'll call you in a bit, love you."

I lost it at that point unable to muster, "I love you too." I hung up and headed for my car hoping for a miracle but expecting the worst. The drive to the airport is forty minutes from our house. I did it in thirty, lucky not to be pulled over for speeding. Each time I checked the app, her phone hadn't moved.

If she bothered to check hers and found out I was close we'd have a hell of a row. However, I was certain she was so wrapped up in whatever or whomever her new experience was providing, that she'd just assume I told her the truth and never look up my phone's location.

The GPS led me to the Hampton Inn just down the street from DSM. I parked at the far end of the lot, away from the few remaining cars in front of the hotel. After a several minutes I realized Lyn would know my car if she saw it, so I moved next door to the Quality Inn parking lot. I picked a spot where I could monitor coming and going from front door of the Hampton, but not a location where she would notice my dark blue Genesis G-70.

I had no plan. I was fighting the tears that kept coming to my eyes. Was she really cheating on me? With whom and why? Was she throwing away eight years of what I thought was a strong and committed relationship? Had she been seduced, and would she be ashamed if found out? Could there be an innocent explanation for her lies and deceit?

If it was just a night out to spoil herself until I got home, she'd have gone to the downtown Marriott or the Des Lux. But why pamper yourself there when you have a hot tub and pool at home. Also, her massage therapist was only a ten-minute drive from the house, and she loved her. None of this added up to something innocent.

I had been agonizing over all of this for about an hour when she finally emerged with Justin Banks. They were holding hands and trading loving kisses as they headed out. Shit, shit shit! This young med student punk was fucking my wife! I shot a couple of quick pics with my phone when they paused for a longer passionate kiss before jumping in his car.

I'd met him about two months earlier when we were at a hospital function. I like most people and get along easily with just about anybody, but Justin struck me as a bit of a prick. When Lyn introduced us, he put the extra squeeze on the handshake as if trying to prove his was an alpha male. My pops always taught me to look the other guy in the eye and offer a firm hand, so I wasn't impressed. Our small talk was contrived, and he seemed to have a constant smirk on his face. I mentioned this to Lyn on the drive home, and her response had been dismissive. "You're around plenty of doctors Ty, you know they can be self-absorbed shits. Justin is no different."

Now in the parking lot, watching my marriage go up in flames I fought for control of my emotions. What should I do? Lawyer up? Hire a PI? I had to think. Most of my job is problem solving so I forced myself to calm down and think clearly. After a few minutes I formed something of a plan and decided to take a measured risk. When they left the Hampton, they weren't carrying overnight bags. It didn't appear they were checking out. Maybe going out to eat before coming back for some afternoon delight. I watched the glympse app and sure enough, it stopped about two miles away at a local diner. I had, at least a few minutes to act.

I drove back over to the Hampton and entered the lobby. Thankfully it was empty except for a middle-aged woman working the front desk. She looked up and smiled as I approached.

"Good morning, how may I help you?" I glanced quickly at her nametag and noticed she was wearing a wedding ring.

"Hi Beth, my name is Tyler. I have a problem and I'm hoping you can assist me."

"Happy to meet you Tyler, and I'll certainly help if I can! Do you have a reservation and want to check in early?"

"No Beth," I said quietly and seriously. "The couple that left about fifteen minutes ago. A brunette woman and younger blond headed man; did you notice them?"

Her happy expression began to get more serious. 'Why yes I did, is there a problem?"

"I'm afraid so Beth. The woman is my wife, and the young man works with her. I am sad to say I believe they are carrying on behind my back."

"Oh, my sir, I'm not sure how I could help you with that," she said with a look of consternation on her face. Most Iowa folks are good natured and neighborly. They also tend to mind their own business.

"Beth, I'd like to take a quick look in the room they are occupying. I'm not going to cause trouble or make a scene in your hotel. I just need to verify my suspicions. I'm not asking for a room key. I'd be perfectly fine with someone from housekeeping letting me in and making sure I don't stay more than two minutes. I just need to verify. I'm terribly sorry to ask this, but I see your ring and know you understand how a spouse could feel in this situation."

Beth thought about this for a moment. "You look like an honest fellow. That couple did look off to me but what folks do is none of my affair. However, I appreciate your concerns. Could you tell me the name of the woman? She checked them in with her credit card."

"Certainly, her name is Lindsey Clinton and chances are she used an American Express gold card. I can even read you the number if you like. I'm grateful for your consideration and your caution as well."

This seemed to help and a moment later the Amex was confirmed. "Can you call housekeeping?" I inquired.

"No need," she replied, "Thomas," she said in a loud voice. Thomas, also a front desk clerk came around the corner. "Yes Beth?"

"Thomas, I'm going to step away from the desk for about five minutes. I'll be on the third floor. You are in charge until I return." Thomas looked like he'd just been put in command of the White House. "Yes mam!"

Beth winked at me and instructed me to follow her. We rode the elevator to the third floor in silence. Neither of us sure how to make small talk when one person had just learned potentially devastating news. We walked down the hall and stopped in front of room 319. Beth held the key card over the reader. I half hoped it would click red and not let me in. Green, no such luck.

I entered and Beth stood in the doorway holding the door open. Iowa folks are also practical. If I was a nutcase, Beth was going to have an easy pathway to make her get away.

As I looked around the room, I saw clothes tossed here and there. A men's casual button-down shirt and khakis along with loafers and a belt discarded on this side of the bed. As I moved around to the far side, I saw what I expected even as I prayed it would not be so. A light beige blouse I'd bought for Lin on her last birthday along with a short deep navy-blue skirt. A purple matching set of bra and panties, also a gift from me last Valentine's Day. Oddly, at that moment I couldn't recall seeing her wear them for me.

I picked up the panties and could immediately smell the sex. I almost lost my cookies in that instant. Trying to think clearly, I decided some pictures and video of the room could prove helpful. I'm no lawyer or I'd have known a two-bit ambulance chaser could get this kicked out on the suggestion it had all been staged by me. Ignorant of this legal nuance, I scanned the room for about sixty seconds of video narrating as I went.

"I am in room 319 of the Des Moines Airport Marriott. It is 9:55 AM on Thursday, April 28, 2022. I am in the hotel room my wife Lindsey Clinton reserved and paid for with her American Express Gold Card, number 5551-733918-45220. (Don't' ask me why I memorize card numbers, I just do.) She checked in last night with a medical school student from her hospital named Justin Banks. It appears from inspecting the site and smell of the room that my wife and Justin have engaged in intense sexual activity between last night and this morning. I witnessed them leaving the Hampton about fifteen minutes ago. They were kissing and holding hands. I have two pictures to verify this."